For Tab Ramos’ youngsters, the road leading up to the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkey has been long and arduous.

But all that preparation stops today, as the US begin their World Cup dream against Spain in Istanbul.

After a lengthy warm up in the Toulon tournament in France, Ramos’ men have finally reached Turkey, despite the tournament being under scrutiny due to the large anti-government protests currently going on in Istanbul and other cities.

However the games will go ahead and the USA find themselves in the dreaded “Group of Death” with Spain, France and Ghana.

Landon Donovan, Jozy Altidore, Michael Bradley, Clint Dempsey, Freddy Adu, DaMarcus Beasley and Tim Howard all shone for the US U-20 side in tournaments like this in the past. Who will follow suit for the Nats?

Whoever excels, these youngsters must grow up fast if the US U-20’s are going to make it to the knockout stages. With just one win from four games in Toulon, the USA came up against France, Colombia, South Korea and Congo DR. The step up in class showed from the CONCACAF tournament back in March when they lost to Mexico in the final.

Toulon was just a warmup and plenty of players were used to try and make decisions on who made the final roster. So you can’t read into those results too much. But now with Ramos’ squad settled, he will be counting on all of them to play a part in Turkey.

What they’re saying

Head coach Tab Ramos: “We feel very good about our roster and the players we have selected, and we certainly feel like we have good talent here with us. The thing about Spain is they play the same way in all age group. We just saw the U-21 team win the European Championships [in a 4-2 victory over Italy], playing the same way as the first team. Our first team upset Spain four years ago, and there’s no reason we can’t do that same thing on Friday.”

Luis Gil: “Every game we have to respect the other team and give it our all. But against Spain we have to give it that extra push and be strong as a team. I feel like we will get through it.”

Key men

Ramos has scoured the globe for the best talent available to him, with a pool of over 75 players scrutinized by the former US star and his coaching staff. His squad of 21 players are currently playing in MLS, England, Mexico and Germany. And it is the MLSers who are attracting plenty of interest as the tournament is set to kick off. 19-year-old Seattle Sounders right back DeAndre Yedlin has received high praise from Ramos, with the youngster earmarked for a bright future. While Real Salt Lake’s Luis Gil has also been a regular in MLS this season, with the attacker set to give the US their creative spark. And another MLS regular, Shane O’Neill of the Colorado Rapids, will anchor the defense after breaking into Colorado’s lineup this season. While Jose Villarreal has excelled for the LA Galaxy this year, scoring and creating goals with ease. He could be the jewel in the crown as the USA aim to win their first U-20 World Cup.

Schedule

USA vs. Spain, Friday June 21, (2 pm ET, ESPN2/Univision Deportes)

USA vs. France, Monday June 24, (11am ET, ESPN2/Univision Deportes)

USA vs. Ghana, Thursday June 27, (1 pm ET, ESPN2/Univision Deportes)

Predictions

The USA have a tough task ahead of them. Spain and France often produce the best young players in the world and their records at this level are pretty enviable. However, the majority of Ramos’ side have now been on the road together for a long time, over a month, as they prepare for the task ahead. Their is a unity and togetherness that could hold them in good stead. If Villarreal and Gil produce the attacking nous they’re known for, the US could pull off a shock and reach the latter stages. But, unfortunately, Group A really is the “Group of Death” and it would require a minor miracle for the USA to qualify. But who knows?

HOUSTON (AP) Stanford got off to a rough start this year, but rebounded in a season where everyone wanted to take the Cardinal down to make it back to the College Cup.

After winning the first national championship in program history last season, No. 5 Stanford continues its title defense in the second semifinal on Friday night against No. 9 North Carolinas. In the first semifinal, No. 2 Wake Forest faces undefeated No. 6 Denver.

Stanford had with three ties and a loss in its first six games before winning 13 of its next 16 games to win a third straight Pac-12 championship and return to the College Cup.

“I think it was kind of a wakeup call seeing how hard we were going to get played and I think we adapted to that as the season progressed,” said defender Tomas Hilliard-Arce, who was named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year last month.

Stanford hopes to become the first team since Indiana in 2003-04 to win consecutive national championships. Coach Jeremy Gunn’s team is the first to return to the College Cup the season after winning the national championship since Wake Forest returned in 2008 after winning it all in 2007.

Stanford lost some key players from last season, including MLS Rookie of the Year and the reigning Hermann Trophy winner Jordan Morris. But it returns six starters from last season’s team. Five of those players were named to the All-Pac-12 first team last month, and one was on the second team.

“We had some great players leave after last year and I think some people wanted to write us off this year,” Gunn said.

Stanford is led by Co-Pac-12 player of the year Foster Langsdorf. The junior forward has led the team’s attack this season, scoring 15 goals, including one in each of Stanford’s three tournament games. In their 10 Pac-12 games, Langsdorf scored 12 goals.

North Carolina comes to Houston for its first College Cup appearance since winning a national championship in 2011. The Tar Heels also reached the national semifinals in 2009-10.

Some things to know about the College Cup.

H-TOWN CONNECTION: The Tar Heels come to Houston with many connections to the area. Three Houston Dynamo players, defenders Jalil Anibaba and Sheanon Williams and goalkeeper Tyler Deric, played at North Carolina, while head coach Carlos Somoano is from nearby Seabrook, Texas. The Tar Heels leading scorer, Tucker Hume, said players from the Dynamo have reached out to them and that they’ll be at Friday’s game.

“My formative soccer years and experiences were done right here in Houston,” Somoano said. “So for me it’s very special to be back here.”

YOUTH MOVEMENT: After losing key players from last season, including three who were selected in the top 12 of the MLS SuperDraft, North Carolina has had to rely on its youth in 2016. The Tar Heels have 12 players who have appeared in all 20 games this season, six of whom are either freshmen or sophomores. Sophomore forward Nils Bruening leads the team in goals with eight, while redshirt sophomore goalkeeper James Pyle has allowed just 10 goals this season.

“They’ve been a bit of a revelation for us,” Somoano said. “It’s just fascinating to see how they evolve through the year. They’re not the same players now than they were in August.”

FAMILIAR FACES: Denver head coach Jamie Franks and Wake Forest’s Bobby Muuss have plenty of history. Muuss was an assistant coach for the Demon Deacons during Franks’ freshman season in Winston-Salem and was the coach at Denver from 2007-14, with Franks serving as his assistant for three seasons. When Muuss took over at Wake Forest before the 2015 season, Franks took his place at Denver.

“I love Wake Forest . but at the end of the day, these are my boys,” Franks said. “These are my kids, and Wake Forest is standing in our way.

WAKE EYES REDEMPTION: Last season, Wake Forest was the No. 1 team in the country with a 17-2-2 record before falling in the quarterfinals to the eventual national champions Stanford in overtime. This season, the Demon Deacons enter the College Cup with an 18-2-3 mark with a pair of shutouts in wins over Coastal Carolina and Virginia Tech.

DOMINANCE REWARDED: Since Franks took over as the Denver head coach, the Pioneers have lost just one game, a defeat to SMU that ended the 2015 season. The team feels its 35-1-6 record under Franks it has not received enough credit, mostly because the Pioneers play in the Summit League. This is Denver’s first appearance in the College Cup and the players are embracing their underdog role.

“It’s more a historical thing than an actual thing because no one in our locker room is surprised to be here, we expected to be here,” sophomore forward Andre Shinyashiki said.

LONDON (AP) Police overseeing the sex abuse scandal in British soccer say 83 potential suspects have been identified and linked to 98 clubs.

Officers across the country are sifting through 639 referrals received by both police and a helpline established last month when former players started going public to say they were abused by coaches while in youth teams.